Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
Rates
Made
23rd March 2007
Coming into operation
1st April 2007
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Rate Relief (Qualifying Age) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 and shall come into operation on 1st April 2007.
(2) These Regulations are to be read, in a case where a person if he, or if he has a partner, his partner, has attained the qualifying age for state pension credit, with the Rate Relief (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007(3).
2.—(1) Regulation 2(1) of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (interpretation) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if for the definition of “appropriate office” there were substituted—
““appropriate office” means the office of a relevant authority which that authority deems appropriate for dealing with a claim from a particular area;”;
(b) as if in the definition of “assessment period”—
(i) in paragraph (a) after “regulation 35”;
(ii) in paragraph (b) after “regulation 31”,
there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(c) as if the definition of “benefit week” were omitted;
(d) as if for the definition of “claim” there were substituted—
““claim” means, unless the context otherwise requires, a claim for rate relief;”;
(e) as if in the definition of “claimant” for “housing benefit” there were substituted “rate relief”;
(f) as if in the definition of “concessionary payment” for “the Department with” there were substituted “the Department for Social Development with”;
(g) as if in the definition of “date of claim” after “regulation 62” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 25”;
(h) as if in the definition of “designated office” after “housing benefit”, in both places where it occurs, there were inserted “or rate relief”;
(i) as if for the definition of “earnings” there were substituted—
““earnings” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 33 or, as the case may be, 36 of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19;”;
(j) as if for the definition of “eligible rates” there were substituted—
““eligible rates” is to be construed in accordance with regulation 12 of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 14;”;
(k) as if the definition of “eligible rent” were omitted;
(l) as if for the definition of “extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit)” there were substituted—
““extended payment (severe disablement allowance and incapacity benefit)” means a payment of rate relief pursuant to regulation 51 of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 21;”;
(m) as if in the definition of “family” after “the Act” there were inserted “as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 15”;
(n) as if the definition of “maximum rent” were omitted;
(o) as if for the definition of “net earnings” there were substituted—
““net earnings” means such earnings as are calculated in accordance with regulation 34 of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19;”;
(p) as if in the definition of “net profit” after “regulation 37” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(q) as if for the definition of “non-dependant” there were substituted—
““non-dependant” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 3 of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 3;”;
(r) as if in the definition of “non-dependant deduction” after “regulation 53” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 21”;
(s) as if in the definition of “person affected” after “Appeals Regulations” there were inserted “as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 42”;
(t) as if in the definition of “relevant authority” for “housing benefit” there were substituted “rate relief”;
(u) as if for the definition of “remunerative work” there were substituted—
““remunerative work” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 6 of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 3;”;
(v) as if in the definition of “rent” after “regulation 13(1)” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations;”;
(w) as if for the definition of “young person” there were substituted—
““young person” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 17(1) of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 16;”.
(2) In these Regulations—
“the 1998 Order” means the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998(4);
“the 2000 Act” means the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000(5);
“the Decisions and Appeals Regulations 1999” means the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999(6);
“hereditament” means property which is, or may become, liable to a rate, being a unit of such property which is, or would fall to be, shown as a separate item in a capital value list;
“housing benefit” means housing benefit provided by virtue of a scheme under section 122 of the Act but, unless the context otherwise requires, only in so far as it relates to housing benefit which is payable in the form of a rate rebate;
“the Housing Benefit Regulations” means the Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006(7);
“the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations” means the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006(8);
“the principal Order” means the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1977;
“rate relief” means relief from rates, which are payable in respect of a hereditament which a person occupies as his home, as calculated under regulation 22 (calculation of weekly amount of rate relief);
“rate relief week” means a period of 7 consecutive days commencing upon a Monday and ending on a Sunday.
(3) References in these Regulations to a person to whom the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations apply, shall, unless the context otherwise requires, include a reference to a person to whom those Regulations would apply were a claim for housing benefit to be made by that person.
(4) Regulation 2(2) to (8) of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (references to a person who is liable to make payments, interpretation) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if in paragraph (2)—
(i) after “is liable to make payments” there were inserted “in respect of a hereditament”;
(ii) after “regulation 8” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 11”;
(b) as if in paragraph (4)—
(i) for “dwelling”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “hereditament”;
(ii) in sub-paragraph (a)(i) the words from “and, in the case of” to “use the land,” were omitted.
3. Regulations 3 to 6 of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as they apply for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if in regulation 3—
(i) for “dwelling”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “hereditament”;
(ii) in paragraph (2)(c) after “regulation 19” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 16”;
(iii) in paragraph (3) after “regulation 9(1)” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 11”;
(iv) in paragraph (4)—
(aa) after “regulation 9” there were inserted “regulation 9 of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 11”;
(bb) the definition of “communal area” in Schedule 1 to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations were applied for the purposes of the application of regulation 3 of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations to these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations;
(b) as if regulation 4 were omitted;
(c) as if in regulation 6(6) for “benefit week” there were substituted “rate relief week”.
4.—(1) The relevant authorities shall take such steps as appear to them appropriate for the purpose of securing that persons who may be entitled to rate relief become aware that they may be entitled to it.
(2) The relevant authorities shall make copies of the rate relief scheme available, without payment, for public inspection at their offices at all reasonable hours.
5.—(1) Rate relief shall be granted in accordance with paragraph (2).
(2) The relevant authority, as it considers appropriate in the circumstances, may discharge entitlement to rate relief by means of any, or any combination, of the following—
(a) a payment or payments by the relevant authority to the claimant;
(b) a reduction in the amount of any payment which that person is liable to make by way of rates;
(c) a payment direct to the landlord where in accordance with regulations made under the Administration Act an amount of housing benefit payable to the claimant or his partner is being paid direct to the landlord; or
(d) a transfer of funds between the Executive and the Department,
and “pay”, in relation to rate relief, includes discharge in any of those forms.
6.—(1) Rate relief shall be administered by—
(a) the Department insofar as it relates to persons who own the hereditaments which they occupy as their home;
(b) the Executive insofar as it relates to persons who are tenants of the Executive, private tenants or tenants of registered housing associations.
(2) In this regulation—
“private tenants” means tenants under any tenancy except—
a tenancy under which the estate of the landlord belongs to the Executive or a registered housing association;
a tenancy the purpose of which is to confer on the tenant the right to occupy a hereditament for a holiday;
“registered housing association” means a housing association registered in the register maintained under Part II of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1992(9).
7. A person is entitled to rate relief if—
(a) he is liable to make payments in respect of a hereditament which he occupies as his home;
(b) there is an appropriate maximum rate relief in his case; and
(c) either—
(i) he is, or if a claim for housing benefit were made would be, entitled to less than 100% housing benefit; or
(ii) he is not, or if such a claim were made would not be, entitled to any housing benefit because his income exceeds the amount calculated in accordance with Part 5 (applicable amounts).
8. Where a person is entitled to rate relief, then—
(a) if he has no income or his income does not exceed the applicable amount calculated in accordance with Part 5 (applicable amounts), the amount of rate relief shall be the amount which is the appropriate maximum rate relief in his case; or
(b) if his income exceeds the applicable amount calculated in accordance with Part 5, the amount of rate relief shall be the amount calculated under regulation 22 (calculation of weekly amount of rate relief).
9. Where one member of a family is entitled to rate relief that entitlement excludes any other member being entitled to that relief for the same period.
10. A person shall not be entitled to rate relief where he is a person who is not chargeable to rates in respect of a hereditament.
11.—(1) Part II of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (provisions affecting entitlement to housing benefit) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if for “housing benefit”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief”;
(b) as if for “benefit weeks”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief weeks”;
(c) as if—
(i) for “dwelling”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “hereditament”;
(ii) in regulation 7(6) for “dwellings”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “hereditaments”;
(d) as if in regulation 7—
(i) in paragraphs (3) and (4) “(including payments of mortgage interest or analogous payments)” were omitted;
(ii) in paragraph (3) after “of a dwelling)” there were inserted “as applied with modifications for the purposes of the Rate Relief (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 by regulation 21 of those Regulations”;
(iii) in paragraph (6)(b) after “Housing Benefit Regulations” there were inserted “as applied with modifications for the purposes of the Rate Relief (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 by regulation 21 of those Regulations”;
(iv) in paragraph (9)—
(aa) in sub-paragraph (a) after “regulation 62”;
(bb) in sub-paragraph (b) after “Part IX”,
there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 25”;
(e) as if in regulation 8—
(i) in paragraph (1)—
(aa) after “regulation 9” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 11”;
(bb) in sub-paragraph (e) after “Housing Benefit Regulations” there were inserted “as applied with modifications for the purposes of the Rate Relief (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 by regulation 21 of those Regulations”;
(ii) in paragraph (2) after “to 60” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 23”;
(f) as if in regulation 9(1)(l) for “Part VII of the Act” there were substituted “Article 30A of the principal Order”;
(g) as if in regulation 10—
(i) in paragraph (1) after “Schedule A1 (treatment of claims for housing benefit by refugees)” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 11”;
(ii) in paragraph (6) after “2000” there were inserted “as applied for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 13”;
(h) as if in regulation 10A—
(i) after “Schedule A1”, wherever it occurs, there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 11”;
(ii) in paragraph (1)(a) for “; and” there were substituted “.”;
(iii) paragraphs (1)(b) and (2) were omitted.
(2) Schedule A1 to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if for “housing benefit”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief”;
(b) as if for “dwelling”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “hereditament”;
(c) as if for “benefit”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief”;
(d) as if “rent or”, wherever it occurs, were omitted;
(e) as if in paragraph 2(4) after “regulation 62(13)” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 25”;
(f) as if paragraph 3(1) were omitted;
(g) as if in paragraph 4 after “Part V” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 17”;
(h) as if in paragraph 6 after “regulation 65” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 25”;
(i) as if in paragraph 7 after “Part VII” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 21”;
(j) as if in paragraph 8—
(i) in sub-paragraph (2) after “regulation 71”;
(ii) in sub-paragraph (3) “and 74”,
there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 30”;
(k) as if in paragraph 10 after “Schedule 9” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 29”.
12. Section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999(10) (exclusion from benefits) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if for paragraph (1) there were substituted—
“(1) A person shall not be entitled to rate relief while he is a person to whom this section applies.”;
(b) as if paragraphs (2), (5), (7) and (8) were omitted;
(c) as if for paragraph (6) there were substituted—
“(6) In relation to rate relief “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Department of Finance and Personnel.”.
13. Regulation 2 of and Part I of the Schedule to the Social Security (Immigration and Asylum) Consequential Amendments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000(11) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as they apply for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if in regulation 2—
(i) in paragraph (1) for “income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income support, a social fund payment or housing benefit under the Contributions and Benefits Act, as the case may be,” there were substituted “rate relief”;
(ii) paragraphs (2), (3), (4)(b), (5) were omitted;
(iii) in paragraph (4)(a) for “income support, a social fund payment or housing benefit under the Contributions and Benefits Act, as the case may be,” there were substituted “rate relief”;
(iv) in paragraph (6)—
(aa) for “housing benefit or a social fund payment under the Contributions and Benefits Act, as the case may be,” there were substituted “rate relief”;
(bb) after “regulation 11(4)” there were inserted “of the Social Security (Immigration and Asylum) Consequential Amendments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000”;
(b) as if in Part I of the Schedule for the title there were substituted “Persons not excluded from rate relief under section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999”.
14. Part III of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (payments in respect of a dwelling) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if for “dwelling”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “hereditament”;
(b) as if for “housing benefit” and “that benefit”, wherever they occur, there were substituted “rate relief”;
(c) as if for “benefit week” and “benefit weeks”, wherever they occur, there were substituted “rate relief week” and “rate relief weeks” respectively;
(d) as if for regulation 11 (eligible housing costs) there were substituted—
“11. Rate relief shall be payable in respect of the payments specified in regulation 12(1) of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 14 and a claimant’s maximum rate relief shall be calculated under Part VII of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 21 by reference to the amount of his eligible rates determined in accordance with regulation 12(3) of the Housing Benefit Regulations as applied with modifications by regulation 14.”;
(e) as if in regulation 12 (rates)—
(i) in paragraph (1) “in the form of a rate rebate” were omitted;
(ii) in paragraph (2) after “regulation 13(1)” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations”;
(iii) in paragraph (6) after “Housing Benefit Regulations” there were inserted “as applied with modifications for the purposes of the Rate Relief (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 by regulation 21 of those Regulations”;
(f) as if regulations 13 to 16 and Schedules 1 to 3 were omitted.
15. Sections 133(1) and 138 of the Act shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations they apply for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if in section 133(1) the following definitions were omitted—
(i) “dwelling”;
(ii) “income-based jobseeker’s allowance”;
(iii) “industrial injuries regulations”;
(iv) “war pension scheme”;
(b) as if in section 138 for “the Department” there were substituted “the Department of Finance and Personnel”.
16. Part IV of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (membership of a family) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if for “benefit week”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief week”;
(b) as if in regulation 17(1) and (3)—
(i) after “section 133(1) of the Act” and “section 138 of the Act” there were inserted “as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 15”;
(ii) “as it applies to housing benefit” were omitted;
(c) as if in regulation 17(3) for “that Act” there were substituted “the Act”;
(d) as if in regulation 18(1) after “regulation 17(3)” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 16”;
(e) as if in regulation 19(1) after “regulation 18” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 16”.
17.—(1) Part V of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (applicable amounts) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications as if in regulation 20—
(a) after “Schedule A1” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulations 11 and 23”;
(b) after Schedule 4” and “that Schedule”, wherever they occur, there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 17”.
(2) Schedule 4 to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (applicable amounts) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if after “this Part”, wherever it occurs, there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 17”;
(b) as if in Part I in paragraphs 1 and 2 after “regulation 20” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 17”;
(c) as if in Part I in paragraph 1(12) in Column (2) (amount) for each amount (“Column 2 amount”) there were substituted an amount equivalent to the total of each Column 2 amount increased—
(i) for a person to whom sub-paragraph (1) applies, by 10%;
(ii) for a person to whom sub-paragraph (2), (3) or (4) applies, by 15%,
and in each case where the resultant figure is not a whole penny it shall be rounded to the nearest penny and 0.5 of a penny shall be rounded up;
(d) as if—
(i) in Part II in paragraph 3(1) after “and (d)”;
(ii) in Part III in paragraph 4 after “regulation 20(1)(e)”,
there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 17”.
18. Section 132(1) of the Act shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modification as if for “an income-related benefit” there were substituted “rate relief”.
19.—(1) Part VI of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (income and capital) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if after “this Part” wherever it occurs there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(b) as if for “housing benefit”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief”;
(c) as if for “benefit week” and “benefit weeks”, wherever they occur except in regulation 46(4)(b) and (c), there were substituted “rate relief week” and “rate relief weeks” respectively;
(d) as if for “dwelling”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “hereditament”;
(e) as if in regulation 21(1) for “section 132(1) of the Act” there were substituted “regulation 18 of these Regulations”;
(f) as if in regulation 25—
(i) for “Department”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “Department for Social Development”;
(ii) in paragraph (4)—
(aa) in sub-paragraph (b) after “regulation 28(1)(c)”;
(bb) in sub-paragraph (f) after “regulation 22”,
there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(iii) in paragraph (4)—
(aa) in sub-paragraph (d) after “Schedule 5”;
(bb) in sub-paragraph (g) after “Schedule 6”,
there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(iv) in paragraph (4)(e) after “regulation 19” regulation 16 there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 16”;
(v) in—
(aa) paragraph (5) after “to 47”;
(bb) paragraph (6) after “regulation 41”;
(cc) in paragraph (7) after “to 47”,
there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(g) as if in regulation 26—
(i) after “nor 25”;
(ii) after “to 47”,
there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(h) as if in regulation 27—
(i) in—
(aa) paragraph (1)(g);
(bb) paragraph (2),
after “Schedule 7” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(ii) in paragraph (1) after sub-paragraph (h) there were inserted—
“(w) any payment of rate relief,”;
(i) as if in regulation 28(1)—
(i) after “regulations 32, 59 and 60” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulations 19 and 23”;
(ii) for “section 129(1)(c) of the Act (conditions of entitlement to housing benefit)” there were substituted “regulation 7 of these Regulations (entitlement to rate relief)”;
(iii) in—
(aa) sub-paragraph (b) after “regulation 27(2)”;
(bb) sub-paragraph (c) after “regulation 29”,
there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(j) as if in regulation 29—
(i) in paragraph (7)(b) after “regulation 18” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 16”;
(ii) in paragraph (11)—
(aa) in sub-paragraph (b)(i) after “Housing Benefit Regulations” there were inserted “as applied with modifications for the purposes of the Rate Relief (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 by regulation 17 of those Regulations”;
(bb) in sub-paragraph (e) after “regulation 20(2)” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 17”;
(k) as if in regulation 31—
(i) in—
(aa) paragraph (8) after “Schedule 5”;
(bb) in paragraph (9) after “Schedule 6”;
(cc) in paragraph (10) after “Schedule 7”,
there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(ii) in paragraph (10) after “regulation 27(2)” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(l) as if in regulation 34—
(i) in—
(aa) paragraph (1) after “regulation 28” and “regulation 31(5)”;
(bb) paragraph (2) after “regulation 31(5)”;
(cc) paragraph (5) after “regulation 31(2)(b)”,
there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(ii) in paragraph (1) after “Schedule 5” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(m) as if—
(i) in regulation 37—
(aa) in paragraph (1) after “regulation 28”;
(bb) in paragraphs (1)(b)(i), (2)(b) and (8)(a) after “regulation 38”;
(ii) in regulation 38—
(aa) in paragraph (1) after “or (8)(a)(i)”;
(bb) in paragraph (2) after “or (8)(a)(ii)”;
(cc) in paragraph (3)(a) after “regulation 37”,
there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(n) as if in regulation 39—
(i) in paragraph (8) for “that benefit” there were substituted “rate relief”;
(ii) in paragraph (11) —
(aa) “(other than housing benefit)” were omitted;
(bb) in sub-paragraph (a) “rent or, as the case may be,” were omitted and for “regulation 59(2)(b) or (c) or, as the case maybe, (3)(b) or (c)” there were substituted “regulation 59(3)(b) or (c) of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 23”;
(iii) in paragraph (12) after “regulation 25(1)” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(o) as if for regulation 41 there were substituted—
“41.—(1) A person shall not be entitled to rate relief if his capital exceeds the prescribed amount.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1) the prescribed amount is £16,000.”;
(p) as if in regulation 42—
(i) in paragraph (1) for “Part VII of the Act (income related benefits) as it applies to housing benefit” there were substituted “these Regulations”;
(ii) in paragraph (2) after “Schedule 7” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(q) as if in regulation 45—
(i) in paragraph (1) for “that benefit” there were substituted “rate relief”;
(ii) in—
(aa) paragraph (1) after “regulation 46”;
(bb) paragraph (3) after “regulation 42”,
there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(r) as if in regulation 46—
(i) in paragraphs (1), (2)(b), (4), (6)(a)(i) and (b) and (8) after “regulation 45(1)” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(ii) in paragraph (3) after sub-paragraph (c) for “.” there were substituted “; and” and—
“(d) where the claimant has also claimed housing benefit, the amount of housing benefit to which he would have been entitled in respect of the rate relief week to which paragraph (2) refers but for the application of regulation 45(1) of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (notional capital) as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19.”;
(iii) in paragraph (4)—
(aa) in sub-paragraph (a) after “regulation 59(4)(a)” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit Regulations applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 23”;
(bb) after sub-paragraph (c) for “.” there were substituted “; and” and—
“(d) if the claimant would, but for regulation 45(1) of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations, have been entitled to housing benefit in respect of the benefit week, within the meaning of regulation 2(1) of those Regulations (interpretation), which includes the last day of the relevant week, the amount to which he would have been entitled and, for the purposes of this sub-paragraph, if the amount is in respect of a part-week, that amount shall be determined by dividing the amount of the Housing Benefit to which he would have been entitled by the number equal to the number of days in the part-week and multiplying the quotient so obtained by 7.”;
(s) as if in regulation 47(1) after “regulation 45(3)” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”.
(2) Schedule 5 to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (sums disregarded in the calculation of earnings) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if for “housing benefit”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief”;
(b) as if in paragraphs 4(3) and 9(2)(b)(ii)(bb)after “Schedule 4” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 17”;
(c) as if in paragraph 6 after “Schedule 6” there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(d) as if—
(i) in paragraph 8 after “regulation 31(8)(b)”;
(ii) in paragraph 9(3)(b) after “regulation 28(1)(c)”,
there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(e) as if in paragraph 9(4) after “regulation 6” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 3”.
(3) Schedule 6 to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (amounts to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if for “housing benefit”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief”;
(b) as if for “dwelling”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “hereditament”;
(c) as if in paragraph 13(4) after “regulation 53” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 21”;
(d) as if—
(i) in paragraph 22 after “Schedule 5”;
(ii) in paragraph 23 after “Schedule 7”;
(iii) in paragraph 25 after “Schedule 7”,
there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(e) as if in paragraph 25(a) after “regulation 27(6)” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 19”;
(4) Schedule 7 to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (capital to be disregarded) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as they apply for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if for “housing benefit”, wherever it occurs except in paragraph 21(2), there were substituted “rate relief”;
(b) as if for “dwelling”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “hereditament”;
(c) as if in paragraph 21(1)(a), (b) and (c) after “benefit” there were inserted “or rate relief”;
(d) as if in paragraph 22—
(i) after “relevant benefit” there were inserted “or rate relief”;
(ii) after “entitled to benefit” there were inserted “or rate relief”;
(iii) after “Housing Benefit Regulations” there were inserted “or the Rate Relief (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007”.
20. Where a person has not made a claim for housing benefit, the relevant authority shall assess what the amount of his entitlement to housing benefit in the form of a rate rebate (“notional amount”) would be were he to make such a claim and an amount equivalent to that notional amount shall be taken into account in full as housing benefit when assessing entitlement to rate relief in accordance with regulation 22 (calculation of weekly amount of rate relief).
21.—(1) Part VII of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (amount of benefit) shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations with the following modifications—
(a) as if for “housing benefit”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief”;
(b) as if for “benefit week”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “rate relief week”;
(c) as if for “dwelling”, wherever it occurs, there were substituted “hereditament”;
(d) as if after “Schedule 8”, wherever it occurs, there were inserted “to the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 21”;
(e) as if in regulation 48—
(i) paragraph (a) were omitted;
(ii) in paragraph (b) for “those regulations” there were substituted “regulations 59 and 60 of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 23”;
(f) as if regulation 49 were omitted;
(g) as if in regulation 50 after “Housing Benefit Regulations” there were inserted “as applied with modifications for the purposes of the Rate Relief (General) Regulations 2007 by regulation 22 of those Regulations”;
(h) as if in regulation 51—
(i) in—
(aa) paragraph (1)(a)(i) after “regulation 56”;
(bb) paragraph (4) after “59(8)” and “Part VIII”,
there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 23”;
(ii) in paragraph (4) after “and 63” there were inserted “of the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations as applied with modifications for the purposes of these Regulations by regulation 25”;
(iii) in paragraph (6)(a)(ii) “rent or” and “or both” were omitted;
(i) as if regulation 52—